John Woolman was born at Northampton. He was the child of Quaker parents, and from his youth was a zealous member of the Society of Friends. His “Journal,”, describes his way of life and the spirit in which he did his work; but his humility prevents him from making clear the importance of the part he played in the movement against slaveholding among the Quakers. In 1742, Woolman, then a young clerk in the employment of a storekeeper in New Jersey, was asked to make out a bill of sale for a negro woman; and the scruples which then occurred to him were the beginning of a life-long activity against the traffic. Shortly afterward he began his laborious foot-journeys, pleading everywhere with his co-religionists, and inspiring others to take up the crusade. The result of the agitation was that the various Yearly Meetings one by one decided that emancipation was a religious duty; and within twenty years after Woolman’s death the practise of slavery had ceased in the Society of Friends. His own words in this “Journal,” of an extraordinary simplicity and charm, are the best expression of his personality.
By : John Woolman (1720 - 1772)
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Slavery
Woolman's Journal focuses much on his decision to support anti-slavery. The struggle is first seen when he discusses how he was required to write a bill of sale for a Quaker friend who had sold a slave. He completed the bill of sale because it was part of his job and the man that sold the slave was also a Quaker however, after this event, Woolman took a more official stance in regard to his opinion, even explaining during the actual event that he "believed slavekeeping to be a practice inconsistent with the Christian religion." His journal shows his inner turmoil as he grapples with understanding how he truly feels about the selling and buying of slaves that eventually led to publishing works such as his Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes.
Slavery is prominent in Woolman's journal, and it returns again shortly after the scene with the bill of sale as he discusses further opinions he has on the subject. He takes time to discuss those who he visited that did not take care of their slaves and how that made him feel uncomfortable while visiting. In contrast, Woolman discusses individuals who did take care of their slaves and how that made him feel more at ease. Shortly after that comparison, Woolman moves beyond the treatment of slaves and reflects on the idea that even if slaves were well cared for, they were still taken from their homes. His continual discourse on slavery in his journal makes Woolman one of the first abolitionists.
Power
Woolman addresses one of the issues of slavery to be men having too much power: "men having power too often misapplied it...we made slaves of the Negroes and the Turks made slaves of the Christians." This is an idea already a large part of American heritage as many who traveled to America were seeking freedom of some kind. Woolman's focus on how power corrupts will continue to be impactful as Americans push further away from England (which is what had been occurring when Joseph Crukshank published this journal).
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